Located at the three border intersection of Laos, Thailand and Myanmar, Bokeo is a part of golden triangle famous for its former drugs activities by the international powers as well as local followers fighting for their ideas, belief, economy and power expension. It is hilly in the north which slope down to the Mekong valley in the west and south.

Several groups of people live in the province. One of the popular business is gold panning and digging for precious stones along the rivers. Vegetables farming, cattles raising, trading goods with Thailand, Myanmar and China, as well as some tourism activities are among popular economies for the locals.

Houixai is the provincial capital town. On the opposite of the Mekong river is Thailand's Chiang Khong. The town is where people can cross the river to and from Thailand. It is also a landing-point for merchant boats and passenger boats. From here ones can find boat down the river to Luang Prabang via an overnight stop at Pak Beng. It is also possible to go upstreams along Nam Tha river (which meets the Mekong at Paktha village - an hour boat from Houixai) to Luang Namtha, though there are no regular boats.